N70TB has been in the shop for a few months now for its biggest upgrade yet. I’m happy to say that we are nearing the end – another few weeks, meaning completion is likely just before or after Oshkosh. The center piece of the upgrade is a new autopilot – my Century III broke late last year. In my view, repairing it didn’t make much sense – it’s a 40-year-old system, and at some point I just had to bite the bullet and switch over to a new digital autopilot. That is what’s going on with my Bonanza, and while I can still not disclose the full extend of the project, I am sharing my thoughts about available autopilot in a new video, and which one of them is going to be in N70TB from here on.
2 replies on “N70TB New Autopilot”
wondering why g3x gets no mention (yea or nay). my understanding is that the “g3x” contains the software to run an autopilot; driving the garmin servos. So controls are available via the touchscreen, but for ease of use (or redundancy) you can get a “GMC control panel [gmc305 or 307]” . Not sure of TSO product path, likewise for the STC paths.
Hi Curt,
The G3X is mentioned in the video (along with other Garmin displays like the G5) as the “brain” behind the GFC500 autopilot system. My understanding is that the mode controller panel is always included (maybe not in the experimental world, but for sure in aircraft like my Bonanza). I would not consider an autopilot for my Bonanza without a dedicated mode control panel.
Regards,
Martin